Plays to showcase financial scandals, passion and family

Also starring in Ponzi are singer turned talk show host Dai Jun and Shanghai Opera House's mezzo-soprano Wang Weiqian. After two performances at the Shanghai Grand Theater on July 10 and 11, Ponzi will go on to tour seven Chinese cities, including Xiamen in Fujian province, Beijing and Chengdu in Sichuan province.

In October, former China Central Television hostess Zhou Tao will play the lead role in Love Letters, an original play written by Shang Dong, Zhang Yue and Wang Keran. Wang is also the artistic director of Magnificent Culture.

The play follows the correspondence between a man and a woman spanning more than 40 years beginning from 1975 during their middle school years. Through love, disappointments and aspirations, the play "reflects China's social changes through the past 40 years", says Zhu Guang, head of the culture and entertainment department at Xinmin Evening News.